


A home for a stray

by viria



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Daichi is off Kuroo's head, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, I might or might not have done some unforgivable things here, Kuroo basically adopted a bunch of kids, Kuroo is always this nice, M/M, Pining, Slow Burn, like teen wolf ones but not exactly, lots of it for my angst-deprived soul, no seriously kids i enjoy breaking Kuroo a lot, uncle kuroo, werewolves au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-16
Updated: 2015-02-16
Packaged: 2018-03-13 07:23:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3372779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viria/pseuds/viria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He thinks if he dies, the report is going to say something about a werewolf who lied to an Investigator rougly 113 times, and the Investigator, who foolishly decided to believe him afterwards. Daichi feels stupid, his hand tightening around his gun just in case, just in case this is the 114th  lie, after all. He looks at his pocket watch and thinks that if he dies here, he dies at around 5 PM on a chilly Friday evening in his own flat, which even to Daichi, seems kind of lame. He forces a few slow breaths in and out to steady himself, his cold fingers still around the gun by his belt. There's no need to worry...yet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Too late, the melody is over

**Author's Note:**

> O my god this is my first fic and to be honest I don't have much idea on what I'm doing rip
> 
> but well we all start somewhere so, might as well give it a chance:D
> 
> Hugggggeeeest thank you to [Niki](http://archiveofourown.org/users/boxofwonder) and [Ksusha](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Triana) for talking to me endlessly about this one and reading my process and just thank you for always being there for me whenever I'm angst-deprived:')

He's hitting his hand against a water tap, washing his dirty, _bloody_ , hands in frantic movements mindlessly, over and over and over again, the soap burning against his wounds. The water in the washstand is vivid red mixed with darkness, and Kuroo watches as dirty streams disappear down the sink, the scratches and wounds on his palms turning bright and swollen against the pale of his skin. He wants to take a shower, he thinks, because the _smell_ is still there, hitting his nose and making the images from tonight flash in front of his eyes, over and over and over again, on repeat. It's sickening.

It's painful, suffocating, his breath heavier with every passing second as he clatches his hands to the washstand so hard his knuckles are just as white, holding himself in place because his weak legs are shaking so hard he can't stand.

He looks up and he thinks he's seeing himself, the hot anger in his chest bursting up because he hates it, he hates seeing himself standing _here_ , guiltily washing away the blood from his hands, while his friend is cold and motionless and _dead_ under the heavy ground. He hates it. It hurts.

It hurts so much he punches the mirror with his fist as hard as he can, leaving the web of cracks forming on surface with a creaky grating sound; but the pain is still there, not leaving, the scalding burn of his chest just doesn't _go._ He wants it to disappear, so he punches again, harder, feeling nothing but the same suffocating ache.

Kuroo's eyes are itching hot as he keeps hitting, the sharp pieces of glass cutting in his skin, but he doesn't feel a thing. He wants the pain to stop, wants to wake up, he wants to wake up from this nightmare and see his friend scolding him again, voice harsh and preachy and _lively_. But he knows he's not sleeping.

He is choking, again, the sobs he doesn't hear making are cutting and wet; leaving his body tremble with hiccups. His tired brain doesn't register the quiet opening of the door, because the strenght is abandoning him, leaving him weak and empty and broken against a cold tile floor of Daichi's messed up bathroom.

He still didn't wash off the blood from his body, he remembers, as another choked sob leaves him curled up to himself, not noticing the dark eyes that are watching him in unbelieving shock.

 


	2. But in the heart of darkness, our hope lies lost and torn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroo Tetsurou has a million problems and for once Sawamura Daichi is not one of them. In which Kuroo is desperate.

_ 2 days ago _

It felt as if the world was crumbling under his feet, making balancing on the edge harder than usual. Dangerous.  _His_ world was crumbling and he had zero control on the situation whatsoever. He hated lacking control more than anything. Life of a werewolf was never easy to begin with, hell, he was used to all the dangers that were coming by with simply  _existing._ This world was fucked up and he knew it all along.

Yet this time – this time it wasn't about himself. He was in danger as usual, yes, but he didn't care. Couldn't bring himself to care about his safety when his pupps were put on a radar of the W-Investigators. Somehow those assholes found a way to their hideout place, they were fucking smart enough to find Kuroo's  _home. Home he was so desperately trying to protect._ He knew they would come, he knew  even their remotively peaceful time was running at this very moment, as the Investigators were planning an attack. And Kuroo...As much as it sucked to admit even to himself, the quiet dreadful feeling on the back of his mind was clawing it's way down his throat, lingering there and letting the terror settle down in his bones. He couldn't protect these kids on his own. Hell, even with Yaku, they weren't strong enough. And it fucking sucked.

His frightened mind was urgently trying to come up with a solution, with a place...a place for kids to stay safe and sound while Kuroo and Yaku fought for their home in the battle that was not meant to be won. Not by them, at least. This way his pupps at least would come out unharmed...But who would protect them while he and Yaku are gone? Who will protect them if...if they never come back? By now, the chances of not coming back from a simple food supply were rocketing up by the day, so he needed a back-up plan.

And the only one he had was screaming at him how stupid he was, how batshit  _crazy_ the whole idea even is, yet the quiet voice somewhere far far away was hopefully whispering to him that maybe... _maybe_ it would work. Maybe it isn't that bad. The life of his family depended on  _him._ It all came down to Sawamura, as much as Kuroo hated to admit it. He bitterly laughed to himself, thinking about how desperate might have been to seek help from the guy who was trying to catch him for  _years_ now, yet from the single Investigator who actually put a damn effort into trying to find those  _kids._ Maybe...maybe he cared enough to  _protect_ them. Kudos to Kuroo for his wonderful ideas. But Sawamura  _owed_ him, and it was the single chance of him actually helping out in this crazy plan. Crazy or not, it was his only hope.

 

\---

The anxiety was pulsating in his blood harder and stronger with every step he made, with every meter he came getting closer to the _scent._ The scent most of the time he tried to avoid and stay away from as far as possible. Except for the rarest moments he felt remotively bored and  _safe_ , when he found Sawamura simply to annoy the hell out of him. Because, he thinks, when Sawamura doesn't show the gun full of silver bullets right down his heart, making him mad is sort of fun. It lets Kuroo pretend that everything is fine, reminding him that no matter how damn stubborn the W-Investigator is, he still has close to damn nothing to prove on  _what_ Kuroo is. The realization is always delightful. Almost like a hide-and-seek, in which he keeps winning, yet this time it's no time for games, and this time, he is the one searching.

This time is the matter of life and death, and the worst of all – it's that it's not only the matter of his,  _Kuroo's_ , death. This time it's about the kids and he will do anything to protect them. Even though this “anything” implies asking  _Sawamura_ for help.

The scent he was following was getting closer, far too close for his comfort, and Kuroo  _knew_ he only has a few more steps – a few more seconds to change his decision and just head the fuck back. Though, he kept moving forward.

It was as if Sawamura could feel his presence almost right away, which was quite unsettling for the  _human_ : his head turning back, dark gaze fixating on his. Kuroo grinned. “Glad you're looking better, Sawamura. Was a shame to see ya all fucked up and bleeding,” he made his grin wider, making the man in front of him realize that he  _remembers._ He wasn't yet quite sure why he helped Sawamura out on the first place, but in the current situation his confusing behaviour back then might help him to get what he wanted. Sawamura didn't wait long to get right up to the business, though. Just the usual.

“Why?” Investigator's gaze was still fixated on his, but the usual anger and hatred just weren't quite...there, as Kuroo noticed. He titled his head to the side, innocently looking at Daichi, pretending as if he didn't understand what Sawamura means. “Why what? You gotta be a bit more specific about it, Sawamura. The world is wide and full of unknown,” he's spreaded his hands widely in one smooth movement, showing around. “So ya'd gotta explain yourself better.” 

“You know perfectly well what I mean by that,” the groaning of Sawamura's usually loud voice was far too quiet for Kuroo's ears. “Why did you help me?” Daichi's dark eyes were still gimleting into his, as if trying to find all the answers Kuroo was not willing to give. 

“I'm always this nice,” Kuroo puts a hand on his heart, smile small and as innocent as he could make it look. Didn't seem like Sawamura bought it, though, his brows furrowing deeper. 

“You owe me,” his grins and plays were gone, because for once he's serious. This time lying won't help him get what he needs. Not from Sawamura. “I gotta need your help.”

The look Sawamura gives him only confirmes how dumb he was – coming up here. Yet the part of him swore he's noticed Daichi looking almost...considerate, for a moment. Though, his look and his words didn't quite match. “You...gotta need...my help?” the way Sawamura looks almost makes him wince, because hell, is feels as if he just said he thinks the moon is square. “Are you kidding me?” if he was missing Daichi's anger before, now he's sure there's enough of it. “ _You_ need my  _help_ ?” The little bubble of hope Kuroo embraces inside his chest is slowly starting to deflate, making him feel weaker and just...more lost, with every passing second. He makes an effort to calm himself down.

“Yes,” he looks Sawamura in the eye, trying to find some confirmation, some bits of reassurance that his last hope is still not entirely lost and forgotten. “But if I'm being more specific, it's not _me_ who will need it.” Apparently, Daichi is a bit paranoid, because he twitches away from him, getting in an all-ready stance.

“Are you threatening me?” his eyes narrow down, not blinking.

And for a second, Kuroo is dumbfounded. But then again, it's not like Sawamura is completely out-of-place with that assumption, considering their  _history._ Although he doesn't feel even remotively funny, he laughs. “Goooood, Sawamura. For how long do we know each other?” he wipes away the non-existent tear, his expression theatrically offended, “I'd never.”

He can swear Daichi is rolling his eyes before he even sees him doing so, but the moment doesn't last long. And Kuroo doesn't have time.

“I need you to help the kids,” _because I can't afford losing anyone else_ , “I need you to hide them somewhere safe.” Sawamura straightens up as if the lever was pushed, blinking at him in confusion. But his usual demeanour is soon to be back in place.

“What _kids_?” his voice almost sounds threatening, almost. Kuroo knows perfectly well that Sawamura _knows_ what kids he's talking about. After all, it's Sawamura who's been searching for them for _months_ , as if he didn't have enough of W-cases on his shoulders to worry about. 

“God, Sawamura, you know what kids I'm talking about just fine,” but before Kuroo can even pull on his bravado, he is showed against a wall, Daichi's strong arm right down his throat, the sound his back makes collided with a stone hard and loud. He makes no effort to get away from the grip, although it would be fairly easy, considering he's stronger than Sawamura is by default, and most definitely faster than an after-injury human. The hand by his throat presses tighter, making it painful to swallow. It's not exactly how Sawamura is, usually, - it's brutal, reckless.

“So it was you,” the boiling rage in the voice he knows so well sounds unfamiliar, Sawamura's jaws are pressed together so tightly, he thinks he might hear his teeth creak. “Where the fuck did you take them?”

It takes a second for Kuroo's brain to register what Daichi is actually leading to, the all not-caring mask cracking for a moment to show the genuine surprise. He looks at Sawamura with wide eyes, trying to find there something other than hatred and rage. He blinks a few times, finding nothing. Does Sawamura really...? “Wait,” talking is a bit hard with the press by his throat, but it's bearable. Yet his voice comes out hoarse and low. He reminds himself he doesn't need to get away from the grip for now. “Do you think  _I_ took those kids?” he knew Sawamura hated him, sort of, but didn't expect he thinks that low of him. He almost thought the fun goes both ways, he's almost disappointed.

“Who else if not you?” the hatred in Daichi's voice is so real it makes Kuroo wince. 

“God, Sawamura,” he doesn't try to pretend or control his expressions this time. “Why the fuck would I take the kids from their parents?”

“You tell me.” 

Then, all at once the air in his lungs is tight caged in his chest, and the realization just  _strikes_ Kuroo. How mad Sawamura seems, how desperately he was trying to find those kids, how he was the only one who ever tried to find them.

“You really don't know, do you?” his tone sounds far too surprised to his own ears. Sawamura dents him against a wall even harder, his face way too close to Kuroo's own. His words are an angry hiss against Kuroo's cheek. “Do not know _what_?”

“I didn't take the kids from their parents, Sawamura,” he is truly honest, for once. Talking is easier once the grip loosens a bit. “You...You don't know. Didn't it ever seem strange to you that _no one_ is trying to find them? No one, but you, Sawamura?” He looks Investigator in the eye, trying to wordlessly translate what he's leading to. Trying to prepare. “No one is looking for them, but you. No one _wants_ them back,” Kuroo's gaze is serious, his heart aching and hands forming into fists because every time he thinks about it it brings back memories, memories he wants so bad to get rid of. “They are outcast, Sawamura. Their parents are the ones who got rid of them on the first place.” Daichi's eyes are wide, shocked, his hold on Kuroo so weak it seems like he doesn't hold Kuroo, but holds _to him._

“I...they...what?” the lack of words is not like Sawamura at all, but Kuroo understands. Daichi looks like he's trying to find the answers somewhere on Kuroo's face – to make sense of his expression and the words that seem like a foreign language to him. He tries one more time, his voice hoarse and very very quiet, “Why?”

And Kuroo doesn't feel like hiding it. Werewolves or not, they are still children. And children never deserve to be thrown away like that.

“Because they are half-bloods,” the words come out tired, Kuroo's sigh warm against Daichi's face. The cold of the wall is still there, unlike the grip of Daichi's strong arms. Kuroo continues, “I didn't take them, because they were thrown away like some garbage,” he spits out the last word with force, “Not wanted by their parents, not wanted by the pack because they are so weak. No one wanted them,” Kuroo looks in dark eyes again, and this time, there's only confusion and some unbelieving disappointed sadness. “I had to take care of them...couldn't leave them like..like that.” 

Sawamura seems to be looking at him in a whole new light, and the tiny bubble of hope inside his chest warms up, growing, whispering him that maybe, maybe it  _will_ work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a part of me feels as if I'm jumping right to it way too soon, but the other part prayers she'll be able to figure a way out of this. I'm an optimist:"D


	3. So say goodbye to the vows you take

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being Daichi is hard and suffering.

Daichi cannot believe what he's hearing. Kuroo is the one always telling lies, always plotting, manipulating, always one stupid step ahead of him. But this time – this time Kuroo's words seem real, his expression honest and bitter and serious like Daichi has never seen before. He knows Kuroo is telling the truth, he _knows_ , because this is something he's been wondering for so long – why no one but him seemed to care about the missing kids, but yet he doesn't want to believe any of it.

“Are you telling me that the parents I was interrogating have been lying to me all along? Don't bullshit me, why would anyone get rid of their own children? It doesn't make sense,” it doesn't, Daichi thinks. Yet the cold empty feeling inside his chest tells him that his questions won't change the disgusting truth. Kuroo seems to think the same, for the sceptic look he's giving him.

“I told you, Sawamura,” Kuroo's black eyes are glued to his own. Looking Kuroo in the eye always makes him uncomfortable, yet he doesn't averge his gaze, holding his own steady and unwavering. He's afraid if he looks away for a second, he'll miss something important. The expression on Kuroo's face seems foreign, unusual, just like the words he's telling him. “Those kids are half-werewolf, half-human,” Kuroo looks down for a moment, then looking him dead in the eye again, as if challenging him. “Just like I am.”

And then all of Daichi's beliefs are cracking down, hard, because this is none of what he was expecting. Kuroo can't be... “You're...not...an alfa?” he feels childish, as if he's just found out the sky was green and not blue. “Not the leader?”

The questions he asks are important, the questions he asks are nothing funny to laugh at, but Kuroo is still laughing. He laughes so hard he bends in half, his voice loud and hoarse and maybe just somewhat vitriolic. Daichi wants to punch him, to wipe that stupid smile from his face once and for all. Kuroo looks back at him, the grin gone as soon as it formed, gaze intense and calculating and maybe just a little bit entertained.

“Did you _really_ think _I_ was the alfa, Sawamura?” Daichi has no smart remark to it because, yes, he really thought so. And apparently he was never too good at hiding his emotions, because Kuroo rubs his face with his long clawless fingers, another annoying snicker coming out of his mouth. It sounds like a cruel irony, to Daichi.

He doesn't reply to Kuroo's question, instead asking him his own. “Is it because you're only half a werewolf?” He didn't even consider a possibility of Kuroo not being a pureblood, so he must _know,_ “You can't become alfa?”

Kuroo looks vulnerable, for a second, but his demeanour is back to place as soon as Daichi thinks he's noticed _something_ , making him doubt that he saw this “something” on the first place. The man in front of him fixes Daichi with his gaze, just looking at him for a long moment, not answering, the cruel smile beginning to form on his lips. It spreads wider, showing off Kuroo's slightly pointed teeth, before Kuroo finally says, not looking away, “It is because I am half a _human._ ”

He has to repeat the last word in his head for a few times before he winces hard from Kuroo, because this...was something Daichi never considered. It strikes him hard, his chest tight and the Investigator badge against his heart heavy. He never thought about it during all those years he's been off Kuroo's head, chasing him. Trying to _kill_ him. Somehow he always thought about werewolves as...monsters. But the moment Kuroo helped him, a week ago, seemed to be the start of his personal little apocalypse. It makes Daichi doubt everything he's been taught to believe, it makes Daichi...remember. The vague images in front of his eyes from somewhere far far ago, almost forgotten. Almost. Or at least he thinks he remembers, because by no means _what_ he remembered there lying half-unconscious in a puddle of his own blood, could make any possible sense. He probably looks around as baffled and lost as he feels, because Kuroo claps him on a shoulder, which would almost seem friendly, if it didn't hurt so much.

“Mai, mai, chill, Sawamura,” the grin on Kuroo's face is as wide as ever, yet it doesn't seem real at all. It seems vicious and sharp, ready to cut through, “No need to be so _worried,_ I'm still half a werewolf.”

It's another challenge, Daichi knows, but the red lights that should be firing up in his head seem to be working incorrectly, because Kuroo's basic _avowal_ Daichi waited for so long just doesn't make it better in the slightest. Something seems off. “Why are you telling me who you are _now_?”

Kuroo raises an eyebrow on him in response. “Oh, come on, it's not like you didn't know that already.” It's true, Daichi knew. But Kuroo never said it with such a blatant text before, so what's so different now?

The _werewolf_ in front of him showes his hands in the pockets of his worn-out leather jacket, looking away. “Let's assume I just feel like being honest for once,” he shrugs. “Not to mention I still need your help.”

“Why?” he looks at Kuroo's profile, yet his head snaps back to look at Daichi again, his eyes holding the exact fire that makes Daichi so mad just looking in them.

“I just told you why!” his voice goes just slightly rugged in the end. “I have to protect the kids!”

“I know. I just don't understand what do you need to protect them from on the first place.” Daichi remembers today's file he has gotten, “It's not like there's any attack missions planned anytime soon.” Kuroo flinches back, his eyes wide and his brows soonly furrowed, a confused frown forming on his lips. Daichi guesses he doesn't quite believe him.

“Sawamura,” Kuroo steps a bit closer, as if trying to get a better look on Daichi's face. He hates when Kuroo does that. There's in fact _so much_ he hates about him. “They are planning to attack our hideout tomorrow.”

This time it's Daichi's turn to be surprised, because either Kuroo is lying to him _again_ , or the higher-ups are hiding something _from him._ He prefers to think that it's Kuroo, because it's easier, because it's usual, but the quiet glances he's gotten from his co-workers this morning make the uncertainty settle down in his chest, the darkness of unknown putting it's hands around his eyes. He doesn't like being in the darkness. He tries to come up with a way to acquit his co-workers' behaviour once he hears Kuroo speaking again.

“You didn't know about this too, did you?” Kuroo almost looks...sympathetic, almost, if not for the mocking pitiful look the sympathy seems to be turning into. “Seems like they hide quite some _things_ from you, don't you think?”

And yes, this is what Daichi thinks. But he cannot show it to his still-enemy. He thinks he could just turn down all of Kuroo's demands and that would be it, but Kuroo probably feels it, stepping even closer, his voice sounding close to what Daichi would call begging, if he didn't know Kuroo well enough.

“Sawamura, they are going to wipe out all of the kids! There are seven of them, nine including me and...my partner, but we can't protect them on our own! They are _kids_ , Sawamura!” the hands Kuroo was hiding in his pockets are now on Daichi's arms, the hold tightening right with the slow desperate raising of Kuroo's voice. “This is exactly why you're not included in that mission! Because you have morals! Because you wouldn't approve them to kill off the kids, would you? You're the one who was searching for them, and now that you found them you can't just...you can't just let them die.”

It's different, Daichi thinks, seeing Kuroo like this. He knows he's trying to hold it together, but the grip on his arms is tight with tremble, and it's not as easy to hide. Even if Kuroo tries hard right now, Daichi still thinks he looks...somewhat lost, like this. Desperate. Vulnerable. And he knows, he knows that he will not bring this entreaty down. Daichi looks at Kuroo and he thinks that right now there's much more _human_ to Kuroo's werewolf.

 

 

\---

The heart is beating hard and fast against Daichi's ribcage, because after a few moments, there is absolutely no going back. His mind, customized to no-trust-for-Kuroo is giving him dozens of colourful ways of _something_ going wrong, the vivid images of Kuroo coming up with a way to get rid of him flashing by, making Daichi doubt the honesty of Kuroo's situation.

Although, another part of him, the part that always thinks trusting Kuroo is a dead-case, the part that sounds painfully similar to Sugawara, is currently telling him that Kuroo is saying the truth. That he does need help. That this is not a play, not a joke, not a trap. For once.

He thinks if he dies, the report is going to say something about a werewolf who lied to an Investigator rougly 113 times, and the Investigator, who foolishly decided to believe him afterwards. Daichi feels stupid, his hand tightening around his gun _just in case_ , just in case this is the 114  th  lie, after all. He looks at his pocket watch and thinks that if he dies _here_ , he dies at around 5 PM on a chilly Friday evening in his own flat, which even to Daichi, seems kind of lame. He forces a few slow breaths in and out to steady himself, his cold fingers still around the gun by his belt. There's no need to worry...yet.

The door bell rings and he jumps just slightly, which is embarrassing, which isn't like him at all because he's supposed to be rock-hard and unwavering, not jumpy like a trainee on a practice mission. The repeating sound echoing down the walls of his empty flat makes him want to reconsider, because how stupid does anyone have to be to willingly let roughly eight werewolves right down his flat? Then he reminds himself that no one is safe anyway, and that he can handle it. Just like the usual. But his flat is going to be full of guests, which isn't like the usual in the slightest and which would make Suga proud, if only his guests weren't potentially dangerous criminals and Daichi wasn't officially going to break down a bunch of different anti-werewolf laws.

His steps are slow and soundless against his wooden floor, the gun out and all-ready. He looks in a peephole, and he does see Kuroo. Fidgeting and looking around, hiding a few colourful mops behind his tall frame.

Daichi breathes out one more time and opens the door.


	4. Into the middle we go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Daichi is about to become a father:D

Kuroo's fingers are tapping against his leg in a wild unpredictable rhythm, probably as unpredictable as the whole situation with Sawamura Daichi. He hopes the Investigator keeps his promises, he hopes once the door opens there won't be a bunch of guns showed right at his pupps, waiting for them.

He lets out a nervous puff of air, considering how many he can put down before he gets a bullet in his head. If anything happens, he thinks, he hopes he can at least take Sawamura down with him.

There are quiet steps behind the door, probably soundless for a human, but Kuroo hears them, because of the part of himself that isn't. His heartbeat increases, the beats drumming in his chest fast and unsteady. He is prepared to hear more steps coming by, but there are none. Which means there's only one person behind the door, and which means Kuroo can take them down if needed. At least Yaku is still behind him, watching their backs. So if something happens to him, he's sure Yaku is going to help the kids to get out of here. He avoids thinking of where would he take them afterwards, though.

The door opens slowly, the gun showed at him in a slit, having him on the aim. He would be worried, maybe, if only the person who was holding it wasn't in fact Sawamura Daichi, fucking Sawamura Daichi  _who kept his word_ . Somewhere deep inside he is so happy, he wants to pull Sawamura in a hug. Though instead, he presses the gun down with his index finger, grinning wide and bright.

“Can't believe you're _that_ excited to see me, Sawamura,” his mouth stretches in a smile before he can stop it. But Daichi is looking behind his back, inspecting the kids who came with him. The warm hold of Hinata's little hands on his back is a bit of a reassurance, so he puts his hand back on Hinata's shoulder, just like the usual. Daichi's eyes flicker just a bit at that.

Sawamura is eyeing them all from head to toe once more, then looks around, his gaze lingering at the bushes and trees behind Kuroo. He pulls his gun down completely, making a sharp inviting movement with his head. Good thing he didn't seem to notice Yaku, he thinks.

“Come in, fast,” he looks around again, while the kids and Kuroo take unsure steps inside his appartment. Then he closes the door, sighing loudly, closing his eyes for a moment, struggling to relax himself.

Daichi looks at small frames who are still trying to hide behind Kuroo's back, yet it doesn't take too long for them to start looking around curiously. He thinks they should know how to not trust anyone so easily, but once Sawamura's gun is showed by his belt, they seem to relax almost instantly.

Soon after, Hinata's head pokes from behind his back, looking at the Investigator with wide eyes full or curiousity. As if reading Hinata's movements, Lev pokes from another side, mirroring him and looking at Daichi with what seems more like an emulative gaze. Kuroo thinks he should introduce them to each other, but for a moment he's stuck, because he doesn't quite know what to say. 'And here, kids, we see the guy who tried to kill me multiple times in the past few years, his name is Sawamura Daichi and he's the reason of the majority of my problems.' Even unsaid, these words seem dumb. Thankfully, Hinata's out-going nature sets up the pace for him.

“So coooooooooool!!” he stops hiding behind Kuroo completely, running closer to Daichi, his eyes wide and sparkling with excitement, voice high and mouth in a wide “O”. He vibrates on his feet a little, looking up to Sawamura.

Who seems to be...dumbfounded, because he looks at Hinata with surprised eyes, unprepared for such turn of events. Lev jumps out right after, yelling much louder than it's necessary, “What's your name??? How old are you??? Is this gun real??? For how long are you doing what you're doing??? And what are you doing exactly??? Are you uncle Kuroo's friend???!!” Lev starts jumping up and down somewhere in the middle of his question attack, talking so fast he has to take a moment to steady his breathing. Daichi blinks fast and confused at “ _uncle Kuroo_ ”, puzzled, because the words he hears definitely do not go along in Daichi's head at all.

Sawamura's brows are so high Kuroo thinks they are soon to touch his dark hair, but to his surprise, Daichi pulls himself together faster than he would expect him to.

“My name is Sawamura Daichi,” Kuroo is so astonished Sawamura is _actually going to answer_ , he stays glued to his place not looking away from Daichi, who looks...plain weird. His voice sounds unusual and almost gentle, or at least he thinks this is how Sawamura's gentle voice would sound, considering he's never heard such intonations from him before. This way, Sawamura reminds him of a single father, the thought alone so absurd Kuroo tries to hold in a nervous snicker. “I am 24 years old. This gun is in fact real,” Kuroo rolls his eyes, at that, because Sawamura avoids mentioning that his gun is full of silver and actually meant to harm their kind. “I had my job since I was 20, but I managed to become an...Investigator only two years ago...” He rubs the back of his neck at that, looking at Kuroo, not knowing how to answer to boy's last question. Kuroo does nothing to help him, though.

Before Sawamura comes up with some complicated answer, the oldest of kids, Kenma, steps forward, his glance lacking the usual fidgeting and nervousness. His voice is still quiet, the expression unreadable. “If you're the Investigator, why are you letting us to your flat?” Daichi strains, his brows close together and a little frown on his lips. This time, Kuroo steps in.

“It's because he owes me, Kenma,” Sawamura looks almost offended, but doesn't deny. 

As he proved it today, he is a man of word.

**Author's Note:**

> I actually planned to write the whole thing down before uploading it, but now that I think about it, it will probably take me ages to finish everything I plan for them so I figured I might as well try to upload it by the chapters, I was never good at planning anyway. English is not my native language and I really tried my best, but if there's something that doesn't make sense, I apologize in advance; feel free to correct me on this. ;_;
> 
> But I still hope you'll enjoy it, even if just a bit!
> 
> I will try my best to update it, though I guess the chapters will mostly be quite tiny, although if I update I'm sure it will be a few chapters at once, so...I'll do my best anyway!
> 
> Comments are really greatly appreciated because once again this is my first thing and sometimes we need a bit of a guidance^^


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